Astro Boy Aftermath
by Rue Bladesinger
Summary: This is a little one-shot about the night following the Alien attack, and Astro ends up spending the night with his friends. But when he sees the picture of Toby and his father, things get a bit tough for our little hero...


**Just a one-shot for now, but please tell me if i should continue! :) If I get enough reviews I have a big plot behind this. Thanks**!

Astro watched as the strange alien life form flew back into the endless depths of the sky, away from Metro City. Thrusting his fist in the air, he let out a laugh of happiness, and blasted back down to the ground where his Dad, Cora, and his other friends were waiting for him. As he powered off his rocket boosters and dropped to the ground he heard his friends cheer, "Go Astro!"  
Other bystanders began clapping, and he blushed and began walking alongside his father.  
After a few moments of silence, he spoke up, "So what now?"  
Cora merrily ran to his side and punched his shoulder. "Dude, your a hero!" He laughed as Zane, Widget and Sludge bounced up beside him and patted him on the back. "Yeah, how does it feel? Everyone looks up to you!", beamed Widget.  
Astro frowned and put a finger to his chin, thinking. How did he feel? It was good that everyone trusted him, but... it was such a big responsibility. So he shrugged. "Weird... I guess." grinned. "You'll make a great hero."  
"Just be sure to warn me next time before I have my arms turn into cannons. That kind of caught me off guard for a second..." Astro said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
They were all stopped in their tracks when a floating limo car came in front of the group, and Orrin came out, slightly trembling from the recent attack. "Master -uh, Bill! And Toby -I mean... Astro!" Astro chuckled as the servant robot tumbled over his words. He noticed something flash in Cora's eyes, but he pushed it away for another time.  
"Orrin!", said, his eyes narrowed in confusion, "I thought I told you to take the day off!"  
Orrin began stuttering out nonsense, and Astro came up and elbowed him lightly. "What he means is he is going to drive us all home, THEN take his break... right?" He said, looking up with expectant eyes. "Uh... yes, I suppose..." Astro smiled and bounded to the car happily. Then he glanced behind him.  
"Hey Dad, you don't mind if they come, do you?" Pointing to his friends. Doctor looked hesitantly at the band of misfits and smirked. They all seems to be putting on little puppy-dog faces. "Well... I guess. Just... don't go in the lab, okay?"  
They all nodded with crazed grins. And together, they entered the floating automobile.

...

"Gee, Astro, I can't wait to see your room!" Zane smiled.  
"Yeah! I bet it's so cool!" Widget exclaimed.  
"Do you have a T.V.?" Asked Sludge.  
"Is that YOUR house?!" Asked Cora.  
Astro laughed and looked out the window. Yes, that was his home, alright. He leaned forward, eager to run into the house and give all of his friends the grand tour. The house had so many memories, and after a long time on the surface he was glad to be back. The others were in for a surprise.  
When they pulled up to the drive way Orrin got out and opened the doors for the kids, who seemed to have trouble telling what they were seeing. It was just so big! Astro quickly became nervous when Zane looked like passing out. He looked up at his Dad, questionably. Tenma waved him off with a grin, and Astro led them all into the front door.  
While Astro was showing Cora and the others around he barely even noticed how blown away they were. It wasn't until they had finally finished the tour and they had landed in Astro's room that their jaws were nearly falling off of their hinges.  
"Are you guys okay?" He asked with a hint of worry.  
Cora was the first to recover. "I'm better than okay! How did you even get a house like this?! This has to be the best house in all of Metro City!" Slowly they all began to explore the expanse of his bedroom. He jumped backwards onto his bed and lied his arms behind his head. "Well, having the great Doctor Tenma for a father has it's perks!"  
"It seems so! I mean, look at these video games! Mega-Crash Racer 2?!"  
He chuckled and walked over to his dresser by his window. Digging through the drawers he found propped clothing, and got dressed. Black pants and a white T-shirt. He really wished that his Dad gave him more then knee high red boots and a black and green pair of underwear. Satisfied, he went back over to the television and turned it on, inserting the video game. Handing the controllers to the twins, he stepped back and watched them fight over what cars they wanted to play with. He watched Cora sit on the edge of the bed and begin reading one of the books he had laying around. Smiling with content, he walked over to his bookshelf to find a book for himself, but Cora tapped him on the shoulder. He raised a brow.  
"It looks like somebody wants to talk to you..." She said, pointing to the window. Sure enough, a squeezy bottle robot and a window wiper robot appeared right outside.  
Groaning he unlatched the window and faced the pair. "What do you guys want? I have my friends over!" He whispered so the others couldn't hear. Unfortunately the loud beeping and clicking that proceeded had gotten everyone's attention. They all stared at the cleaning bots and Astro.  
He quickly turned back to the robots and mumbled quietly, "Just go away...!"  
More beeping followed, and Astro was immediately upset, and pointed his finger at them, saying, "I already told you! Their not horns, it's called gel!" And he shut the window, putting down the blinds so the outside was blocked from their view.  
Understanding that because he was a robot, Astro could understand the strange language of the others, the group slowly turned away, as Astro blushed a bright shade of red.  
He heard the others crack up a bit, and frowned.  
"What's so funny?" He asked them. Cora was the first to reply,  
"Oh, nothing... it's just... " her words were cut short as they turned into giggles, and soon she was rolling on the floor, dying of laughter. The others joined in, and Astro's frown grew longer.  
"Guys! Please!"  
Widget wiped away a few tears and pointed to his hair. "You have horns!" They all broke out into another fit of laughter.  
"Oh, brother." Sighed Astro.  
After some time had passed it began getting late, and the crew had set up sleeping bags, ready for the night. had been happy to make popcorn and let them watch a movie before bed.  
It was about a little boy named Billy and his little rag-tag group of friends going on a hunt for buried treasure. It wasn't Astro's favorite, but his friends enjoyed it, so he watched it with them. It was fun for him to see everybody laugh and smile together, and that was all that really mattered. About half way the, however, Astro noticed Cora glancing at the picture of his Dad and him -no, Toby- and his heart fell immediately.  
Feeling a bit too somber, he picked up the picture and made his way out of the room. When questioned though, he said he just had to go to the bathroom. This made Cora raise her eyebrow, and she silently followed him out of the room.  
She watched as he walked to the balcony that overlooked the whole of the city. She stopped when he slid the glass doors open and paused at the edge of the railing, just staring at the picture. Silently she made her way out onto the balcony, but jumped when she heard Astro.  
"I know your following me."  
He didn't even turn to face her. She knew he was upset, the way he was frowning and looking down... He seemed so broken. After a few moments of silence, she looked at the picture again.  
"Why do you have that picture of you and your Dad...? Did something happen?"  
Astro took a deep breath and sat down on one of the chairs, but remained silent. She sighed and took a seat beside him.  
"You know that we don't care that your a robot, right?" She spoke softly.  
He held up the picture again and looked at it, his eyes unwavering. "We all know that you are a great friend..." She continued, hoping to get a reaction, but to no avail. After more silence, she pressed on. "And we also know that you don't really have horns." She chuckled, hoping to earn a laugh, but he sealed to get even sadder. She remained quiet for a few minutes. Finally, he broke the peace.  
"You know that I'm a robot, but do you even know what I was created for...?"  
She shook her head. "I guess I don't know that much about you do I, huh?"  
More silence. Then, "Do you know who this is?" He pointed to the boy in the picture.  
"Well, it's you, of course."  
She was surprised when Astro shook his head. He put the picture down. "His name is Toby."  
She stopped breathing. She heard that name a lot. Could it be...  
"Well, Toby... Toby died. And as my Dad grieved for his dead son he... He..." Astro looked down again and drew his knees to his chin. "He created a perfect replica of Toby, to replace him."  
"He made you?" Cora frowned, shocked, or horrified. She could not tell. Astro saw this, and just the fact that she acted this way... it hurt him more than anything. But he didn't say anything.  
When Astro nodded she drew in a sharp breath. He continued, "My Dad gave me Toby's memories, so I would actually think I was Toby. And it worked. I had no idea that I -he died."  
She put a hand on his shoulder, to provide at least a little comfort. He relaxed a bit. After a time passed, he looked up again, at Cora.  
"I just want to apologize for not telling you the truth from the start. I just felt so... normal again. I liked that feeling, being Human."  
She nodded, accepting the apology without hesitation. Little did she know that there were tears, cold yet burning, running down his face. Cora jumped when he let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I just wish, sometimes, that my Dad would accept that Toby is gone. But I still feel as if I'm just a replacement..."  
Silence followed, and the two looked at the stars. They sparkled and twinkled in the dark sky. It was beautiful. The moon was bright. There was so much peace and quiet, It felt wonderful. After some time passed, she looked back at him.  
"What's it like?" She whispered.  
Astro knew what she meant. What's it like being what he is. Although he had wondered why she really cared, he sighed and gave into her. Shrugging, he leaned back. "Well, it's not that different... at all, really." He noticed Cora frown.  
"Not different how?"  
"Well, I thought I wasn't a robot for a long while. I thought I was human... thought I was Toby. So it doesn't feel different. Even when I started flying I STILL thought I was just some special little boy. But," he frowned, "never a robot..."  
"Of course it must be awesome to have Xray vision and super strength." She chuckled, lightly punching him on the shoulder. "Your not that different, otherwise."  
Astro nodded. "I guess."  
After a few more moments Cora stood and smiled, pointing to the door. "Come on, the others must be wondering what's going on." And together the pair stepped into the house, went back to the room, and watched the movie. When Astro had passed by her however, she saw the wet salty tears on his cheeks, and she held her breath, eyes the size of moons. She had never seen a robot cry before, especially him. She let it go however. And the picture was laid face down on his dresser.

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**Review please!** :D


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